Lifetime Health Cover: I've turned 31 this year, what does that mean for private health insurance?

If you’re preparing to blow out 31 candles on your next birthday cake, congratulations!

At 31, not only are you at your peak when it comes to chess playing and recognising new faces, but researchers have revealed your energy levels have never been better.

Although there are plenty of perks that come with turning 31, there are also some decisions you should make about private health insurance; because, if you don’t have private hospital cover and take out cover after 1 July following your 31st birthday, you may have to pay a Lifetime Health Cover (LHC) loading on top of your premium.

For every year you put off getting private hospital insurance once you’ve turned 31, you’ll be charged a 2% loading on top of your premium when you take out a policy.

Lifetime Health Cover (LHC) is an initiative that was put in place by the Federal Government to encourage people to take out private hospital cover earlier in life.

Basically, for every year you put off getting private hospital insurance once you’ve turned 31, you’ll be charged a 2% loading on top of your premium when you take out a policy. The LHC loading is applied to your health cover when you join and you’ll need to pay this loading for 10 consecutive years before it ceases to apply. The maximum loading is 70%, meaning you could end up paying thousands of dollars extra when you do decide to take out insurance.

Avoiding paying the LHC loading is easy. Already have nib Hospital Cover? Just make sure you keep it! You can log into your member account to check your policy at any time.

If you don't have Hospital Cover, simply join before 1 July following your 31st birthday. So long as you keep your private hospital cover, you can avoid paying the 2% annual loading. You can get a quote in just a few minutes.

If you want more information about the Lifetime Health Cover loading, you can visit our FAQs page, or call us on 13 16 42.